Brazil judges end Rio runoff, sparking Supreme Court challenge

The decision puts Flávio Bolsonaro ally Douglas Ruas on course for victory in a state already governed by a judge amid a separate succession dispute.RIO DE JANEIRO (CN) — Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court annulled former Governor Anthony Garotinho’s votes Thursday, putting Douglas Ruas, backed by presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro, on course for a first-round victory in Rio de Janeiro’s gubernatorial election and triggering another legal battle over the state’s leadership.Appellate Judge Ricardo Couto has governed Rio since March while the Supreme Court considers how to choose a successor to former Governor Cláudio Castro to complete his term.Eduardo Paes, backed by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, would have faced Ruas in the runoff scheduled for Oct. 25. His coalition said it will appeal to the Supreme Court and seek an injunction to allow the vote to proceed.In a 5-2 decision, the electoral court ordered Rio’s regional electoral court to recalculate Sunday’s results. Excluding Garotinho’s 274,411 votes will raise Ruas’ share to 50.88% of valid votes, eliminating the runoff. The regional court must recalculate the totals before formally declaring him elected.If the ruling stands, Ruas, president of Rio’s state legislature, will take office in January while under investigation for suspected embezzlement, money laundering, involvement in a criminal organization and procurement offenses. The proceedings are under seal in the state court.Two justices voted to preserve Garotinho’s votes and hold the runoff, arguing that annulling them after the election would restrict voter participation.Garotinho, who governed the state from 1999 to 2002, was barred from running because an administrative misconduct conviction suspended his political rights. He appealed and remained on the ballot, with an interim ruling allowing his votes to count pending the full court’s decision.After finishing third, Garotinho sought to withdraw his appeal Monday. The justices rejected the request and upheld the denial of his candidacy.Fernando Neisser, a lawyer and member of the Brazilian Academy of Electoral and Political Law, said Rio’s regional electoral court took too long to rule, confusing voters. It could have ruled 25 days earlier, he said. The appeal reached the Superior Electoral Court just days before the election.Neisser said a 2015 legislative change moved the registration deadline from July to August, cutting the review period by 40 days without changing the procedures for rulings and appeals.Accepting the withdrawal would allow defeated candidates to influence the outcome after learning the results, creating opportunities for bribery and extortion, Neisser said.“Once the election has taken place, if annulling those votes affects the result, the case no longer concerns only the parties to the proceedings. It concerns the public as a whole,” he said.Rodrigo Brandão, a constitutional law professor at Rio de Janeiro State University, said the court correctly rejected Garotinho’s candidacy, but should have resolved the issue before the vote.“The electoral court allows him to run. Then the election takes place, and the court issues another ruling. Annulling votes after the election is very bad for legal certainty,” he said.Brandão said delays also marked Castro’s case, decided near the end of his term.Castro resigned a day before the ruling, and the succession dispute has kept Couto in office.Brandão said the Supreme Court generally defers to the electoral court on election matters. If it allows the runoff and Paes wins, his victory will depend on its final ruling. Upholding the electoral court’s decision would annul the runoff result and leave Ruas as the first-round winner.An authorized runoff could take place after Oct. 25. Electoral court President Kassio Nunes Marques said Thursday was the deadline to configure voting machines and changes could not be made even for one state.Neisser said the Supreme Court is unlikely to suspend the decision.“No one thinks Garotinho was eligible. So there is no reason to drag out the chaos any longer than necessary,” he said.Courthouse News reporter Marília Marasciulo is based in Brazil.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads